Corez wine bar will uncork Mediterranean atmosphere

Press Photo/Katy BatdorffCorez co-owner Corey Waller hopes to open later this month in a former law office on Cherry Street SE.

GRAND RAPIDS -- The bar is being handcrafted.

The menu is being prepared.

A new kitchen has been built.

The 5,200-bottle wine cellar is being installed.

In a couple of weeks, the pieces will come together as Corez, a wine bar and restaurant in the East Hills business district.

Husband and wife Corey and Anna Waller teamed up with Mike Dombrowski to build Corez inside a former law office, 919 Cherry St. SE. They hope to open Jan. 16 or 17.

The partners envision a place where people can gather over a $15 carafe of high-quality table wine or savor a $20 glass of something more exotic.

A special nitrogen wine preservation system will allow the bar to tap higher end bottles not typically available by the glass, said Dombrowski, the former wine buyer for Art of the Table, 606 Wealthy St. SE, and former sommelier at The Chop House, 190 Monroe Ave. NW.

"It will enable people to try stuff they normally wouldn't find," he said.

Food will be crafted by executive chef Chad Miller, owner and executive chef at Restaurant Bloom, 40 Monroe Center NW. Bloom will remain open with chef Lucas Blonde leading the day-to-day operations.

Miller's wife, Gwen, will serve as Corez's pastry chef.

Entrees are expected to cost less than $20. Small plates, cheeses and smoked meats designed to share over wine also will be offered.

Miller said the offerings will be "inspired by or in the spirit of Mediterranean wine cuisine" while using many locally sourced products.

"When people come here, we don't want them to describe it as like Chicago or something," Dombrowski said. "We're trying to create an identity for Grand Rapids."

Corey Waller, an emergency room physician who worked as a bar manager during medical school, is crafting much of the restaurant.

The bar, which includes a recycled glass top, will be faced with reclaimed woods.

The partners chose the neighborhood for Corez because it has seen a resurgence in recent years.

There's also a convenience factor.

"We wanted a place that we could walk to in our neighborhood," Dombrowski said. "I'm four blocks up the street, and Corey and Anna are six blocks up the other way."